1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to vehicle seat assemblies. More particularly, this invention is directed to a rear seat assembly that is movable to a position adjacent to a rear lift gate to provide unobstructed access to a passenger compartment through the rear lift gate.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain motor vehicles, such as minivans and sport utility vehicles, include a second and even a third row of seat assemblies for vehicle passengers. However, there are times when a vehicle operator will alternatively desire additional cargo space within the motor vehicle rather than the additional row or rows of seat assemblies. In these instances, storage or removal of these seat assemblies is required to provide the additional cargo space desired.
Many vehicle seat assembly storage or removal systems are known in the art. For example, a seat assembly may be pivotally mounted to the floor of the vehicle by risers so that the seat assembly moves between an upright seating position and a forwardly folded position where the seat back is pivoted against the seat cushion and then the seat assembly is pivoted about the riser to an upright position adjacent a front row of seats. However, the risers utilized in such systems are often fixedly mounted to the vehicle floor and positioned inboard of the vehicle sidewall such that floor space is compromised and storage space diminished.
It is known to provide risers that may be removably detached from the vehicle floor so that the vehicle seat assemblies can be completely removed from the floor and the cargo area of the vehicle. Such removable seating assemblies provide for a maximum amount of cargo space. However, once the cargo has been removed, the additional seating space provided by the additional row or rows of seating assemblies is recovered only by going back to the place where the vehicle seat assembly was removed and then reinstalling the additional row or rows of vehicle seat assemblies.
In addition, rollers have been used to aid in the removal of seat assemblies. Finally, storage systems providing for storage of the seat assemblies in a space underneath the vehicle floor are also known in the art. However, both rollers and storage systems underneath the vehicle floor require a large amount of user manipulation of heavy seat assemblies.
As a result, there is a need for a rear seat assembly that can be easily moved into a stowed configuration to provide access to a cargo storage area of the vehicle.